We offer flexible appointments, with our online services allowing advanced booking and on the day appointments alongside a range of alternative appointments to suit your busy lifestyle. Find out more...

E-Consultations

Telephone Consultations

If you would prefer not to come into the surgery for an appointment you can book to have a telephone consultation with a doctor or nurse. Please book this online.

Message my GP

70% of all consultations can be conducted safely online. Using Message my GP can help save you time and get help faster. Please note that to use this service you will need to be registered with our online services.

We want you to be actively involved in improving the care we provide. For example becoming a Patient Champion for Diabetes Care and sharing your experience with other patients. Find out more about this practice…

There are also home sampling and home testing kits you can use if you don't want to visit any of these places.

Types of HIV test

There are 4 main types of HIV test:

blood test – where a sample of blood is taken in a clinic and sent for testing in a laboratory. Results are usually available on the same day or within a few days

point of care test – where a sample of saliva from your mouth or a small spot of blood from your finger is taken in a clinic. This sample doesn't need to be sent to a laboratory and the result is available within a few minutes

home sampling kit – where you collect a saliva sample or small spot of blood at home and send it off in the post for testing. You'll be contacted by phone or text with your result in a few days. Visit test.hiv to check if you're eligible for a free test. If not, you can buy them online or from some pharmacies

home testing kit – where you collect a saliva sample or small spot of blood yourself and test it at home. The result is available within minutes. It's important to check that any test you buy has a CE quality assurance mark and is licensed for sale in the UK, as HIV self-tests available from overseas can be poor quality

If the test finds no sign of infection, your result is "negative". If signs of infection are found, the result is "positive".

The blood test is the most accurate test and can normally give reliable results from 1 month after infection.

The other tests tend to be less accurate and may not give a reliable result for a longer period after exposure to the infection. This is known as the window period.

For all these tests, a blood test should be carried out to confirm the result if the first test is positive.

If this test is also positive, you'll be referred to a specialist HIV clinic for some more tests and a discussion about your treatment options.